1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling structure which is used to cool a fuel cell of a fuel cell vehicle as well as a drive motor and the like of the fuel cell vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a cooling structure for a fuel cell vehicle, there is known a cooling structure which cools the drive motor, control unit and the like of the fuel cell vehicle and the fuel cell of the fuel cell vehicle independently of each other (for example, see JP-A-2000-315513). Also, there is known a structure in which a radiator is disposed in a rear portion of a vehicle body to thereby secure a wide cooling area (for example, see JP-A-2002-141079).
The above-cited former cooling structure is excellent in that it can cool the drive motor, control unit and the like and the fuel cell independently of each other. However, not only because the radiators thereof are disposed in the front and rear portions of the vehicle body, the ventilation resistance thereof is large, but also because the radiator disposed in the rear portion is thermally influenced by the heat generated by the radiator disposed in the front portion, it is difficult to obtain the desired cooling performance. Also, the latter cooling structure has an advantage that it can secure a wide cooling area in the rear portion of the vehicle body. However, since the rate of use of the running wind is low, it is difficult to obtain the desired cooling performance and it is also difficult to arrange pipes properly.